The Team Exchange
by Goth Albino Angel
Summary: Blake has lasted two years without Pyrrha discovering the feelings the Faunus girl harbors for her. his gets a bit more difficult when Goodwitch and Ozpin do their annual 'Third Year Team Swap' and pair the two together. Can Blake hold onto her secret? Or will Cardin's leadership bring it, and others, out into the open? Femslash warning!
1. Explanations

_**I don't own RWBY. Monty Oum is way cooler than I am, which is why he owns it.**_

_**I had to do this idea, guys. It was too good to pass up. The basis is the fact that for every student who has been at Beacon for three years, Goodwitch and Ozpin** **switched around their teams. Come on, you guys can't tell me you weren't thinking about it. Well, here we go! Enjoy.**_

* * *

Blake sat at the lunch table calmly. Ruby and Yang were still pumped up on adrenaline from the mission they had just come back from. Weiss was filing her nails nearby while Nora draped herself around her heiress girlfriend and Ren and Jaune discussed battle techniques that could have helped in the situation. Pyrrha was the only one doing what they were supposed to be doing: eating.

Blake lowered her novel slightly, taking in the redhead from overtop of the tome. Waist length red hair was swept back in it's usual ponytail, gold headpiece adorning the back and sides. Soft tanned skin showed through the places the armor and clothing didn't touch, glowing with sweat in the light from the windows. Amber eyes trailed along what bits of the thin frame it could, marveling at the lithe, but strong athlete sitting on the opposite side of the table.

Verdant eyes lifted to meet her own for a moment and Blake could feel a blush creeping along her cheeks, gazing into the vivid green eyes captivating her. They soon moved on, though, directing their attention to Jaune as he asked Ruby a question from across the table. Blake lowered her eyes back to her book, shaking her head to rid it of the imagines assaulting her mind.

Weiss had taken notice of the brunette's daydreaming and pointed it out surreptitiously to Yang, who grinned at her partner and nudged her playfully. Blake glanced up and Yang nodded her head in Pyrrha's direction, a smirk playing on her lips. Shaking her head, Blake motioned to the doors in the direction of the dorms, indicating she would talk when they returned to the dorm. Yang nodded and turned back to the conversation.

Just then, a holographic image appeared all around the cafeteria, featuring Professor Goodwitch on it. "Students, if I may have all of your attention." she called, gaining everyone's attention immediately. "I would like all third year students to return to their dormitories and wait for the announcement for them to be called to the auditorium."

"They've got an assignment for all the third years?" Ruby wondered aloud. "But it's only the second week of school. What could require all of the third years?"

"Maybe it's something that involves a growth of Grimm in several places and they're sending us all out in large groups to hunt and kill them!" Nora squealed.

"Maybe they wanna, you know, treat us for making it this far without dying." Jaune said, shuddering at Nora's idea.

"We won't know until they call us." Pyrrha giggled, Ruby noticing a subtle twitch of Blake's bow in the older redhead's direction at the sound.

"Then let's hurry to our rooms!" Ruby cheered. "The sooner we get there, the sooner they can call us!"

Her friends agreed with that notion and hurried to their dorm rooms, shutting the doors for privacy. Once in the safety of Team RWBY's dorm room, Yang immediately rounded on Blake and demanded, "Okay, what was that with Pyrrha earlier?"

"What are you talking about?" Blake asked nonchalantly.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Blake." the blonde persisted. "You were staring at her like she was the only thing that mattered in the entire universe."

"I was not staring at her like that." the brunette scoffed, continuing to read her book.

"I would say not." Weiss agreed, adapting an almost Ruby-like mischievous grin. "You looked more like she mattered more than Dust itself. I'd say someone was crushing, but it's already gone much farther than that."

"Wow, head-over-heels, Blake?" Ruby chuckled. "When did that happen?"

"When I first met her." Blake shrugged, attempting to hide the blush on her cheeks.

Three different jaws dropped at that and Yang's eyes grew rounder than her gauntlets. "You're... you're joking!" Weiss gasped, hands clasped to her chest.

"No." the black-themed girl replied. "I was intrigued by her fighting during the Initiation, but I first met her in my class that I share with you, her, Cardin, Velvet and Jaune. She was so intelligent. She reminded me of you, but warmer, comforting. And she's always so quick to help those less able than herself, like mentoring Jaune and helping you teach Ruby proper fighting form. She's supportive and heartwarming. How could I not fall for her?"

The rest of the team could clearly hear the awe in the brunette's voice, never before having seen Blake's eyes light up the way they were while she was talking. The love she felt for the famous athlete was almost tangible.

"B-but Blake..." her leader spoke up. "That was..."

"Two years ago. I know." The Faunus flipped a page in her book, her teammates all staring at each other in awe.

"How did we not notice this before now?" Yang mused.

"I tried to hide it well." Blake murmured. "I guess I was doing a good job. However, I can't allow for a slip-up like today to happen again. If you three noticed, then she's bound to notice as well."

"You can't just hide a crush for four years, Blake." Ruby shouted.

"I can hide it for that and longer if I so wish to." Amber eyes lifted to her teammates and hardened. "And I _do_ wish to. None of you are going to tell her, either. This is one of the many secrets I'm going to continue to bear."

Her teammates all nodded mutely, staring at her in shock.

_How can she possibly be thinking of hiding this? _Ruby wondered. _Especially when there's even the smallest chance Pyrrha could like her back?_

_I think it's a good strategy._ Weiss thought, going to her bunk and beginning to methodically brush her hair. _She kept it up for two years, so it definitely means that she's capable of keeping it up longer. It also gives her time to examine Pyrrha's mannerisms to determine the best way to ask her out when the time comes._

_Is she **insane**? _Yang mused, walking over to Ruby's bed with her sister and leaning against it while surveying her partner skeptically. _She's **gotta** tell Pyrrha about her feelings! No one deserves to go through life hiding how they really feel just because it's a possibility that person may not love them back. I have to help Blakey somehow. We're partners, after all!_

While Ruby was fretting over how to nudge Blake to try dating Pyrrha, Yang was deciding on which technique she should use in order to get Pyrrha to open her eyes to Blake's crush on her and Weiss was deciding which dress she should wear to the auditorium, the intercom rang out and called, "All third year students to the auditorium at this time. I repeat, all third year students to the auditorium at this time."

Both teams RWBY and JNPR set out from their rooms, heading for the auditorium with the rest of the third years. On the way, Yang meticulously made it so that Blake was situated next to Pyrrha, not that the brunette took any mind, reading a book on her way to the meeting and lost to the world around her except for the sound of Pyrrha's voice.

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_********__I know it's a lot of stuff and buildup for a first chapter, but there was no other way in my mind to do it than this way. I want to get this show on the road asap. I hope you guys are ready for chapter two and beyond because this is about to be good._

_********__Aside from that, just wanted to let you guys know I'm now on Tumblr (gothalbinoangel-fiction), Twitter ((a)gothalbinoangel), a Facebook (Goth Albino Angel) and an Archive of Our Own account (GothAlbinoAngel). There are more details on my profile._

_********__And don't forget to leave a review behind!_


	2. New Teams

**_Wow, interesting response to the first chapter. I love you guys, all you favoriters and followers and especially the reviewers, gotta love the reviewers. I've been working on this one for all of literally five hours and I think it's time to show it to y'all. _**

**_Obviously, considering how little anyone aside from Monty himself knows about Beacon, I've done a lot of things that may seem strange, but seem to fit into the RWBY Universe from my perspective. If you have any questions about it, make sure to review and ask or simply PM me and I'll answer the questions. _**

**_Also, I have created several random students in order to help with the whole team exchange thing, but you'll only see them a handful of times, maybe once or twice a chapter. _**

**_That being said, enjoy the fic._**

* * *

The third years filed into the auditorium they had first arrived in the first day at Beacon. The RWBY-JNPR mash group walked to roughly the middle of the room, watching the other students come in behind them. Up on the stage were four people and the group felt chills run down their spines at seeing Headmaster Ozpin, Professor Goodwitch, Professor Port and Professor Oobleck watching them all wander in.

Blake cocked her head at her teammates as they stood around nervously. Yang's leg was bouncing excitedly, the blonde ready to jump into action at any second. Ruby clutched tight to Crescent Rose as she shared a glance with Weiss, the heiress surveying the surrounding area just in case of danger.

Blake shook her head at her friend's paranoia and turned to Team JNPR. Jaune kept shifting his feet every few seconds, fingering his scabbard absently. Nora was bouncing around Ren as the pink-eyed boy simply stood statue-still aside from his eyes following Nora cautiously whenever she was in his line of sight. Pyrrha simply stood beside her leader, hands folded behind her back as she waited patiently for what the professors were going to tell them.

Remembering the incident mere minutes ago, the brunette quickly averted her eyes from the redheaded athlete and turned her attention to the stage instead.

Professor Ozpin was walking to the microphone in the front of the stage while the other teachers stayed back quietly.

"Hello, students." The headmaster said, the speakers helping his voice carry around the room. "You are probably wondering why we gathered you here today. As you can see, several of you are with your teammates and others of you have merged teams to form larger groups." His eyes passed over teams RWBY and JNPR before he continued.

"It has come to the attention of the staff and myself that you are all comfortable with the teams you are a part of. Therefore, we are temporarily disbanding your teams."

There was an immediate uproar as students spoke against this change in their routine. Professor Ozpin moved aside for Professor Goodwitch to further explain the arrangement.

"The point of this exercise is to further accommodate you to working outside of your comfort range. In the real world, you will not always have your initial team that you received here. The partners will not always be the same. And so, we are assigning you new partners among the people in this room."

There was another shout of disapproval, but Goodwitch ignored it. "All of you are to move to one side of the room and leave the other side bare. If you would kindly?" There was a grumble as all of the students nodded and began moving. Most of the students began heading for the right side of the auditorium so Teams JNPR and RWBY followed suit, all of the students squishing each other to one side of the room.

Professor Goodwitch nodded and cleared her throat to gain attention. "When your pair is formed, both partners are to move to the opposite side of the room and stand beside each other. Further instruction will be given when all pairs have been formed. Now then, let us begin."

Now, Blake's ears twitched nervously at the thought of being partnered with someone other than Yang. Yang was relatively easy-going and therefore wouldn't question her love of books. What if her new partner was nothing like Yang in the slightest? Well, that would technically be someone like Ren and he's not that bad...

Professor Goodwitch began calling out new pairs and Blake kept her ears poised for familiar names. "Dove Bronzewing and Yang Xiao Long." Yang's eyes narrowed as they zeroed in on the equally as furious CRDL member. The pair walked to the other side of the auditorium, standing side-by-side as requested.

Blake felt sorry for her partner, wondering how she was going to cheer Yang up once this operation was over. She turned her attention to the book in her hands as Goodwitch continued calling out pairs. Slowly, bit by bit, the stifling crowd on one side thinned out and began accumulating on the other. It was quite some time before Blake's ears twitched at another familiar name.

"Nora Valkyrie and Kristina Tomasi." Nora grinned and bounced over to the slightly timid-looking girl as Weiss stared in disbelief and sadness. Blake suppressed a chuckle when the sadness morphed into horror as Goodwitch called, "Weiss Schnee and Jaune Arc." Jaune shot Weiss a grin and a wink as the two of them moved to the other side of the room.

A few more pairs were called out and Blake felt her ears twitch when a frightened-looking Velvet Scarlatina accompanied a furious Cardin Winchester over to the other side. She cocked her head when Ruby moved off to pair with Sky Lark and Ren nodded to Russel Thrush as they departed.

Finally, Blake's ears perked up as she heard her name. "Blake Belladonna and Pyrrha Nikos." Amber eyes widened in shock and Blake turned to find the redhead standing right next to her, waiting to walk over. Swallowing the sudden lump in her throat, Blake nodded and matched Pyrrha's stride as they crossed the room. Yang shot her a wink and Ruby gave her a thumbs up as Weiss smiled encouragingly at the brunette, but that did nothing to help Blake's nerves.

Keeping two feet of space between Pyrrha and herself, Blake fought to remain calm and not show any apprehension or fear, lest Pyrrha take notice and ask her what was wrong. When the last pair had been called, Goodwitch stepped down and Professor Port stepped up, a large smile on his face, indicated by the upward turn of his mustache.

"Now then, students. It is time to assign you to your teams. These will be your teams for the next six months and there will be no exchanges. Unlike your teams before, these teams will have two word names in order to differentiate the new team from the old original one. For the first team, Ruby Rose, Sky Lark, Maccoto Swordfish..."

Blake lost her senses as Pyrrha turned and placed a hand on her shoulder. Keeping her expression monotone, Blake turned to her expectantly. "I am very happy to have gotten someone like you as a partner, Blake." the redhead murmured quietly, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Me?" the brunette inquired.

"You are familiar. I know a bit more about you than I do most of the other students, whom I don't associate with very often." Blake nodded in understand and tried to speak around the lump in her throat that continued to reappear.

"It's nice having someone I know relatively well for a partner too. Thank you, Pyrrha."

Blake's entire body tingled at the beaming smile that lit her new partner's face and she completely ignored Professor Port until her ears twitched once more at her name.

"Cardin Winchester, Velvet Scarlatina, Blake Belladonna and Pyrrha Nikos. Your four will be known as Cadaver Blackphase." Blake groaned softly, Pyrrha putting a hand to her forehead as their friends gave them mixed glances of sympathy, Nora making the 'break his legs' motion with a malicious grin on her face.

"Cadaver Blackphase?" Blake asked in confusion. "That's an odd name for a team."

"You should have heard the one he gave Weiss and Jaune." Pyrrha giggled, seeming to understand that the other girl had been lost to the world for a few minutes. "Jabberwauk Padfoot."

"Is he _trying_ to use the craziest names he could come up with?" Blake sighed.

"It seems he wishes to show us the fact that we will always be named by someone else and we have to live with that name being our team title." Pyrrha cocked her head with a soft giggle.

Blake shook her head with a soft sigh and waited for the last team to be assembled before Professor Port _finally_ stepped down and Professor Oobleck moved up.

"Each team has been assigned-assigned one person who was already a team leader." Professor Oobleck took a moment to sip his coffee before zooming across the room and beginning to shout. "People who were-who were leaders of their original teams are to take their new-new teams to their dorm rooms." Another sip of coffee and back up to the stage in front of the microphone. "We expect all of you to be packed and moving into your new rooms within an hour."

As one the four teachers stated, "Dismissed."

* * *

_**And that's pretty much the almost last bit of exposition. Events have been set into motion so there's not much more I can tell before we get into the real stuff. Next chapter's going to involve Team CRDL's thoughts on things, Team JNPR's thoughts on things, Team RWBY's thoughts on things and then the move-in scenes with the different characters (in that order) so it's going to be a little longer. **_

_**Also, and I'll say this at the beginning of next chapter for the other fics as well, but I am tired of using caps lock so often. It's too unlike my natural style. So, just like with Black Velvet, for this fic, I'm going to write out team names. That's only for this fic and Black Velvet though. For others, it just wouldn't feel right making it different. **_

_**Aside from that, just wanted to let you guys know I'm now on Tumblr (gothalbinoangel-fiction), Twitter ((a)gothalbinoangel), a Facebook (Goth Albino Angel) and an Archive of Our Own account (GothAlbinoAngel). There are more details on my profile.**_

_**And don't forget to review, guys!**_


	3. Moving

_**I loved the reviews so much! Thank all of you who favorited and followed the fic and especially to MarxBlue for your heartwarming review. You made me smile for five whole minutes (quite a feat, honestly). Thanks so much guys. Now, as I said last chapter, the chapter will be broken into four sections. Team Cardinal's opinion of the program, Team Juniper's opinion, Team Ruby's and then the teams move in together. Also, for this fic, I will no longer be using the capitalized letters for the team names. Think you're ready for this? Enjoy!**_

* * *

All of the students made their way back to their dormitories, some hanging their heads in dejection over the partner they were given, some ecstatic over this change in teams and others somewhere in-between. Velvet's team attempted to cheer up the rabbit-Faunus about being partnered with Cardin, but the support did little to stem the nerves she was feeling. After all, the person who had bullied her for two years was now going to be living in the same bedroom as her for six months. There was so much that could go wrong.

Likewise, Cardin was feeling roughly the same thing, except instead of fear, he was feeling anger at being paired with a Faunus instead of someone he believed to be his equal. He glared at the wall across from him as his teammates packed their belongings away. The bunk beds, the four had decided, would stay since it had taken a lot of hard work to get them put together the correct way. Everything else was stripped bare of all items that didn't belong to Cardin. Dove huffed angrily as he tossed another fighting magazine into his suitcase, glaring holes into the next for another moment before throwing it over to join its comrades. Sky seemed a bit puzzled by what he wanted to throw away and what he wanted to keep, running a hand through his dark blue hair often. Russel was the only one that seemed to be fine with his partnership to the point of packing quickly an efficiently.

Cardin glanced to his partner, upset that none of this seemed to be affecting him. "Russel, what's got you in such a good mood?"

"Nothin' man." the green-haired boy replied with a shrug. "Just not as bummed as the rest of you about getting a different partner."

"We've been partners for two years!" the auburn-haired boy exclaimed, crossing his arms petulantly and leaning against the post to his bunk. "I don't see why they have to switch us up."

"Oh, come on." Russel snickered. "You're just pissed they gave you a Faunus as a partner."

"Not just any Faunus either." Sky agreed, pausing in choosing which pairs of underwear he wanted to get rid of. "The only Faunus you ever seem to really bully around here."

"She's a rabbit." Cardin shrugged. "Rabbits are always the prey, never the predator."

"So that _is_ why you're sore about this." Dove chuckled, throwing his toothpaste and toothbrush into the suitcase and looking around for his shampoo.

"Like you're not sore?" Cardin shot at the brunette. "I saw the look on your face when you got that blonde from Team RWBY. What's wrong? Upset she can outdo you on the battle field."

"Hey!" Dove snarled. "No _girl_ can outdo _me_ on the battlefield. Got that, oh fearless leader?"

Cardin chuckled and raised his hands. "Yes, I hear you loud and clear, oh great bird of peace. That's probably _why_ she would be able to kick your butt on the battlefield, man. You're named after a bird of peace!"

"Look, she won't even be able to get at me on the battlefield, alright?" Dove snapped. "Cause I'm faster and stronger than any chick in this school. Got it?"

"Whatever you say, peacekeeper." Cardin chuckled, Russel and Sky snickering behind the brunette.

"Yeah, whatever." Dove tossed his shampoo into his bag and slammed it shut, tossing it against the wall to await the time when he would be called by his new team's leader.

**Things were going just as smoothly in the Juniper dorm room...**

"...on a team with that chauvinistic pig!" The other members of Team Juniper watched in mild fright as Pyrrha paced before them, an expression of rage painting her features. Vivid green eyes glowed brighter than usual as she moved back and forth, throwing things into her suitcase absently while continuing to rant. "And to even think of pairing him with _Velvet_ of all people? Cardin's _racist_ against Faunus! That poor girl will be torn to pieces, chewed up and spat out before the first month is through!"

"On the bright side, you're paired with Blake." Nora told her. "Maybe the two of you can keep Cardin in check."

"That doesn't change the fact that Cardin _needs_ to be kept in check!" Pyrrha groaned, not even stopping in her rant. "Why is he even still _at _this school? After all of the pranks and stunts he's pulled... he could have gotten Jaune killed on several occasions!"

"Yeah, but look at me, Pyrrha." Jaune chuckled, tapping his armor. "Still good. Still alive."

"No thanks to that machismo bully!" the redhead shot back, nearly squirting the toothpaste from the tube had she squeezed any tighter before throwing it into her suitcase. "And he could have gotten _me_ killed had you not been there for me."

"Actually, he was trying to get me to throw the jar..." the blonde boy pointed out.

"Which would have gotten you _expelled_!" Pyrrha turned to them all, panting heavily, finally having packed all of her things. Sitting on her bed, she sighed and put her head in her hands. "I just don't understand why it has to be Cardin." she whispered.

"Hey, look at it this way." Jaune exclaimed. "At least you're partnered with someone who can tolerate you at the very least, even if you _are_ on a team with someone you hate. I'm partnered with her royal highness, Heiress Schnee. She can't stand being around me!"

Worry flashed in Pyrrha's eyes. "Do you wish for me to have a talk with Weiss, Jaune? I can make her loosen up a bit..."

"Nah, it's fine. She wouldn't hurt me intentionally. I mean, look at what she did for Ruby. Even though she may not like people, that won't stop her from doing the right thing. I'll be fine."

"And Weiss really is just a big teddy bear inside." Nora agreed, bouncing on her bed, already packed, her bags sitting alongside Ren's. "A teddy bear covered in armor, grenades and several missiles ready to go off at any moment, but still a cute cuddly teddy bear."

Jaune laughed nervously at that before Ren spoke. "I think this team exchange is a good idea." he remarked, continuing to flip through one of Nora's magazines lazily. "It's a way to figure out suitable solutions to dealing with someone we can't stand. After all, I have to be partnered with Russel Thrush. Though somewhat of a brute, he is a relatively good person, even if he does hang out with the wrong type of people."

"But Cardin?" Pyrrha sounded close to tears despite her eyes remaining dry. "Why couldn't he have been put on a team with people bigger and more talented than him to take him... down a... notch..." Bright green eyes widened and a slow smile slid across Pyrrha's features. "Professor Goodwitch is a genius."

"Uh, what?" Jaune asked, suddenly puzzled by this strange turn of events.

"Don't you see?" Pyrrha giggled, passive demeanor firmly in place once more. "She put Cardin-someone who is obviously chauvinistic and racist-on a team with not only two Faunus, but three very powerful, intelligent women that can do for themselves without the help of a man. Goodwitch is absolutely brilliant!"

"Wow, you're right!" Nora shouted. "I mean, even though Team RWBY and us are the only ones who know she's a Faunus, Cardin's still on a team with her and she still is, so that will make it twice as worse, because he didn't know. And of course, she also gave him a Faunus for a partner, which would take his ego down quite a bit since she's not _only_ a Faunus, but also the one that he's bullied since the very beginning of school..."

While Nora chattered on about what a perfect development of the team formation Professor Goodwitch did, the others continued the initial conversation. "What am I going to do about Velvet, though?" Pyrrha sighed. "She's Cardin's partner and she always acts so shy and vulnerable. She'll be torn to pieces, chewed up and spat out before the first month is over!"

"Well, that's why you've got Blake." Jaune encouraged her. "She's your partner, right? Perhaps the two of you could work together to take Cardin down a notch like you did that day in Professor Oobleck's class."

"You're right, Jaune." the redhead perked up immediately. "And Blake will also give Velvet someone to relate to within the team. Perhaps this could actually work."

"Great!" the blonde leader beamed. "Do you need help packing?"

Pyrrha giggled and nodded.

**Which means you can guess how things were going in Team Ruby's room...**

"Can you _believe this_?" Yang and Ruby rolled their eyes as Blake completely ignored the white-haired girl, continuing to pack. Weiss tossed another beauty product into her suitcase, continuing to rant. "To even _consider_ putting me with that..."

"You can't call him an oaf anymore." Ruby pointed out. "Pyrrha's been training him up on the roof for years."

Blake felt a stab of jealousy at Jaune's private lessons with Pyrrha, but kept her thoughts to herself. Something in her face must have given her away because Yang grinned and nudged her. "Something wrong with the idea of Jaune getting private one-on-one with your girl, Blakey?" she asked with a grin.

"She's not my girl, Yang." the brunette replied with a sigh.

"Well, there's potential for her to be now." the blonde countered.

"I'm not going to date my partner." Blake sighed. "Dating my partner is just asking for trouble. What if things don't work out? Then the team could be torn apart. Trust me, dating your partner is just bad news."

"I agree." Weiss huffed. "Just imagine if Ruby and I had begun dating. That would have been disastrous!"

"Please stop." Ruby groaned, covering her ears with a blush. "I wouldn't want to date Weiss anyway. I enjoy being her friend, but she probably has some super high standards for the person she dates."

"And Nora meets those standards how?" Yang chuckled, earning a dirty look from the heiress.

"Every rule has an exception." the white-haired girl huffed, shutting her suitcase neatly. "Are you all packed?"

"Yeah." Yang sighed, slamming her suitcase shut. "Not like I wanna be. I can't believe I got stuck with that stuck-up bimbo from Cardinal."

"Dove?" Ruby snickered. "Yeah, he's almost as bad as Cardin. Always instigating Cardin bullying poor Velvet. Hard to believe Russel and Sky are actually somewhat decent people."

"Speaking of Velvet, how's she going to survive with Cardin as a partner?" Yang mused, concern coloring her features.

"Even I feel sorry for her." Weiss sighed, a small flash of worry flitting across her features as well.

"I hope she survives. I mean, she's got Pyrrha and Blake."

"Remember, Velvet's extremely powerful." Blake reminded them all. "Remember what happened last time in the Golden Forest?"

"Oh yeah!" Yang exclaimed excitedly. "I can believe she took out that entire group of Ursai on her own. And in less than twenty minutes, too!"

"Well, it does help that she is a dust mage." Weiss agreed.

"I'm quite certain her weapon helped out too." Ruby piped in, remembering the trip fondly. She got to show Weiss how powerful she was on her own by defeating a pack of beowolves.

"See?" their brunette member smiled. "I'm sure she'll be just fine with Cardin as a partner. I believe it' Pyrrha we need to worry about."

"Yeah, there will be nothing stopping her from noticing your crush on her." Yang snickered.

"That, and she may attempt murder on Cardin for all of the chauvinistic and racist snipes he tends to make. I'm certain he'll be dead before the first month is over if I'm not careful."

"If you're not careful?" Ruby asked.

"Yes. She's my partner now." Blake explained. "And as her partner, it's my job to make sure she doesn't get into trouble, just like I do with Yang, Therefore, I need to watch the way Pyrrha responds to everything Cardin does or says, otherwise she could end up expelled if I'm not careful enough."

"If you ask me, it sounds like another excuse to stare at her." Weiss smirked, Blake turning her head to glare at the heiress.

"I don't want another reason to stare at her." the brunette huffed. "I want less reasons to stare at her so that she doesn't begin to question the constant eye contact."

"More like constant visual undressing." Yang chuckled, receiving a pillow thrown at her head, everyone's favorite way of responding to one of her jokes. "Hey, I'm just saying." the blonde laughed, tossing the pillow back to her former partner. "After all, I will admit that she does have a nice body."

"I don't want her body." Blake muttered, earning her a doubtful snort from Ruby and Yang and a skeptical glance from Weiss. Finally, all bags were packed and set against the wall, the four girls lounging on their beds for a moment.

"I just hope everything goes okay." Ruby sighed, putting her head in her hands. "I don't know what I think might be going to happen, but I don't want any of you to end up hurt."

"Hey, we'll be fine, sis." Yang beamed up at the redhead. "After all, none of those other leaders could ever compare to you."

"I'll say." Weiss snorted, earning a momentary glare from Yang.

"Weiss has a point." Blake agreed. "None of them tend to think the way you do. Though your ideas may seem crazy, they almost always work out perfectly. And you have us on a good training schedule too, so I think you'll be a wonderful leader for... what's your team's name again?"

Ruby blushed and muttered, "Rainshine Swimhorse."

"Wouldn't seahorse have made more sense?" Blake asked, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"That's what I said!" Ruby shouted, throwing her hands up in the air. And Sky agreed with me, too.

"Whoa, he actually agreed with you on something?" Yang asked in awe. "Maybe you're right and he's not that bad after all. Though, if Dove pushes me-."

"You won't be able to return to being my partner, which would make me feel sad and lonely." Blake interjected smoothly, ears twitching as her head turned to the door. "It's time for us to move. All the other leaders are heading to people's rooms and looking for the members of their new teams."

"Well girls," Ruby grinned. "I wish you all good luck. Hopefully we all survive this without too much pain and suffering."

"I wish." Weiss grumbled, accepting the hug the redhead offered her. Blake opened her arms and Ruby jumped into them, letting Blake pick her up for a moment before putting her down. After giving the cat ears a soft scratch, Ruby accepted the bear hug her sister inevitably gave her, Yang squeezing tight and giving her a soft smile when it was finished.

A knock at the door sounded and Blake opened it to find Maccato standing there with his bags, smiling at her sheepishly. "Sorry if I was interrupting." he murmured.

"We were just beginning to head out, actually. Blake told him. Come in and make yourself comfortable. Yang, Weiss, should we get going?"

"I guess." Weiss sighed, rolling her eyes as she grabbed her bags and began lugging them across the hall to Team Juniper's room where Nora, Ren and Pyrrha were just leaving. Pyrrha waved to Blake and the Faunus smiled, nodding to her before grabbing her own bags and waving to Ruby.

"Ready to find Cardin's room?" the famous athlete asked when Blake approached her.

"Might as well." the brunette sighed. "Can't put it off forever, right?

Pyrrha nodded with a melancholy sigh and the partners began walking the halls to the other side of the dorm, looking around for Team Cardinal's dorm room.

Glancing around, Blake spotted Velvet and waved the other Faunus over. The lighter brunette looked relieved to see her two nicer teammates before her new team leader and she hurried over, smiling shyly at the pair.

"Have either of you seen Cardin?" She asked calmly.

"No." Pyrrha grunted, glaring around. "My guess is that he expects us to come to him ourselves, the pig. Come on, the doors should still have the team names on them. We'll find it that way."

Blake nodded and hoisted her bags up, grabbing one of Velvet's heavier bags as well, much to the mage's gratitude. Following Pyrrha through the corridors, Blake glanced around for the old Team Cardinal bedroom.

"Found it." Pyrrha called from further ahead. "I had to remember that Cardin had been listening in on the conversation Jaune and I had been having on the roof that one night. Then I estimated the route and distance and found the door. Shall we knock?"

Blake shrugged and lifted her hand, slamming her fist sharply against the door three times before trying the knob and finding it open.

"Could've left it open for us." She spat, making her way inside to find Cardin lounging on ths bottom bed of one of the bunks.

"Took you girls long enough." Cardin sneered, glancing up as they entered.

"Not like you were any help." Blake growled, tossing her bags to the floor before slowly setting down Velvet's bag too. Turning to the other girls, she asked, "Who wants which bed?"

Velvet and Pyrrha glanced to each of the beds and cocked their heads at the empty bunk.

"I'll take the top if you want the bottom, Pyrrha." The Faunus told the athlete.

"Sounds grand, Velvet." Pyrrha replied with a smile, setting her bags beside the bunk as Velvet did the same on its opposite side.

"Whoa, what do you think you're doing?" Cardin called.

"Getting settled in." Pyrrha replied, not even turning to him as she laid out her sheets.

"I'm leader, I decide where everyone sleeps." The auburn-haired boy stated.

"Too late." Blake told him, stepping up easily to begin making the bed above his. "It's already been decided."

Cardin rolled his eyes and gazed around at the trio of females, unable to help the grin that settled onto his face. "Hm, I guess this isn't going to be so bad." He murmured softly.

"What makes you say that?" Blake asked, hopping from the top bed and landing easily on her feet.

"What could be bad about staying in a room with three beautiful girls under my command? Even if one them _is_ a _Faunus_." He shot a glare at Velvet, who recoiled immediately.

Blake placed a hand on the smaller girl's shoulder as Pyrrha stated, "You neglected to notice an interesting fact, oh great leader."

"Oh yeah?" Cardin chuckled. "What?" Did I forget to mention that you'll all be fawning over me by the time these six months is over?"

"What an interesting exaggeration of a disgusting unreal truth." Blake deadpanned, beginning to help Velvet unpack.

"No." Pyrrha said in reply to the auburn bully. "You neglected to take in the fact that all of the girls on your team have one reason or another to hate you."

"What?" Cardin demanded, standing.

"You bully me." Velvet told him, sending Blake to pack her own things, saying, "I can take it from here."

"You threatened me and bullied Jaune." Pyrrha added.

Cardin turned to Blake, who was beginning to unpack her vast collection of books. When she glanced back, the dark brunette shrugged. "Ruby is Jaune's friend, so you made my leader unhappy. And I'm not particularly fond of the way you treat Faunus."

"Ugh, another animal-lover." The leader scoffed, flopping back down on his bed. "Whatever. When you girls see how much of a warrior I am and realize that you need me to survive, you'll be battling each other for my affections."

"Or which one of us gets to deal the killing blow." Blake monotoned, gaining a sidelong glance from Velvet and a nod from Pyrrha. Cardin glared at them all with a curled lip before turning over and staring at the wall, leaving the girls to finish unpacking.

Once finished, Blake glanced around and grabbed a pair of headphones she'd bought in Vale last year, plugging them into her scroll before four-way-calling the scrolls of her friends. It was a few minutes before any of them picked up and when they did, they sounded strained.

"Hey Blake." Ruby sniffed.

"What's up, Kitty." Yang asked, her voice coming in sharp.

"What do you want?" Weiss demanded.

Blake sighed and said, "Let's start from the beginning. Ruby, what's wrong?"

"I've never been in a room with nothing but boys before." The team leader replied. "They all stink. And they put up a poster of half-naked girl right across from my bed. And Maccato's partner, Hanai Blowfish? He yelled because he had to sleep under my bed."

"Want me to come over there?" Weiss demanded. "If I could sleep under your bed for two years and not die, he can do it for six months, the disgusting worm."

"Ruby." Blake said calmly. "Inform him that if there is anymore trouble, three very angry nineteen-year-olds would be more than willing to teach him respect."

"But what if he calls me a baby and degrades me as a leader because I can't solve my own problems?" The redhead murmured. "I don't want to look weak. I want them to follow me."

"Fine. Don't tell him." Yang ordered. "But the next time something happems... tell us."

"Alright."

"Moving on." Blake stated. "Yang?"

"Dove's being more of a chauvinistic pig than normal, to quote Weiss at one point or another." The blonde replied and it was clear she was gritting her teeth. "I'm considering taking him up on that offer to go for a nighttime spar with each other to see who's better."

"Don't do anything rash without a witness there." Blake commanded firmly, but not unkindly. "Take Ruby if possible. If not, take Weiss. Anyone who is a reliable witness who will still tell the truth."

"Good idea." Yang agreed. "Nice thinking Kitty."

"Don't call me that." Blake sighed. "Weiss?"

"Men." The heiress replied.

"Gonna have to give us a little more than that, princess." Yang told her.

"They're smelly and loud and rude and obnoxious... they're Yang with less hygiene and worse manners!"

"Hey!" The blonde shouted.

"Weiss, you're going to have to deal with that." Blake told her soothingly. "Boys stink, boys are loud and they're definitely rude and obnoxious." She shot a glance down at her bed, beyond which, Cardin was probably still sulking. "How are you coping?"

"I asked Jaune which bed was Nora's and buried my face in it for ten minutes." The white-themed girl responded.

"Wow, that's really mature of you, Weiss." Ruby said in surprise.

Then Weiss continued. "Then I kicked them all out of the bedroom."

"And that's the heiress we know." Yang chuckled.

"Weiss, it's their bedroom too, you can't kick them out of it." Blake sighed. "Let them back in. You don't have to apologize, but at least let them back in and explain why you kicked them out. If they give you trouble and Jaune can't tame them, threaten to bring in Yang."

"Fine." Weiss huffed, crossing her arms in the new Jabberwauk Padfoot dorm room.

"What about you, Blake?" Ruby asked, knowing the brunette was going to hang up had she not said anything.

"We took Cardin down a peg by telling him that, even though he was delusional about us needing his help in anything aside from how to ask out the snobbiest most close minded men in the world, all three of us had a reason to hate him."

"You go, Blakey!" Yang cheered.

"And Pyrrha?" Weiss asked.

Blake looked up to check the redhead, finding that both she and Velvet were doing the exact same thing she was. "She's most likely talking to Juniper right now. Velvet's doing the same with her team as well."

"Hey, maybe you can lay on the moves tonight." Yang urged.

"No, Yang." Blake replied. "Good night, all of you."

"Night Blake!" Ruby signed off.

"Good night, Kitten." Yang chortled before signing off.

"Try not to kill him without me there and don't try laying any kind of moves on Pyrrha without a member of Ruby or Juniper present to mediate the situation." Weiss ordered.

"You got it, Princess." Blake agreed.

"Good night." And Weiss ended the call between them. Removing her headphones, Blake sighed and grabbed one of her novels and a candelabra, opening the book and beginning to read. Losing herself to the world, the brunette let the story within the pages engulf her.

So enthralled by the pages was she, that she didn't notice Cardin stand and turn to watch her. The auburn-boy cocked his head and his eyes trailed along her body, finally coming to rest on her bow.

"Hey, Belladonna." he called to her, getting her attention. The book was lowered slowly as Blake turned her attention to him. "What's with the bow, you always wear?"

"I like it." Blake replied, watching him warily.

"Yeah, but you're always wearing it." Cardin pressed, eyes not straying from the ribbon. Blake forced her ears to remain still so as not to give away her secret. "Why not take it off?"

"Because I like it." Blake repeated, eyes never wavering from Cardin.

"As your leader, I order you to take it off." the auburn boy commanded, smirking at her as if he'd won.

"As your teammate, I'm saying no." the brunette replied.

Cardin's lip curled and he reached up, making for her bow. Blake's hand shot out quickly, her amber eyes glaring into his as her grip became painfully tight. Both Velvet and Pyrrha had frozen below, both looking torn between whether to help Cardin or defend Blake.

"You are our leader." Blake hissed, her monotone becoming eerie as she kept her gaze focused on the furious blue eyes in front of her. "That does not give you the right to treat us like dirt. It does not give you the right to make decisions for all of us without our say. And it does _not_-." She bent his wrist at an uncomfortable angle, eliciting a grunt of pain. '-give you _any_ right to touch our personal belongings without our permission. Now get off my bed."

She threw Cardin's wrist back at him and Cardin growled, rubbing his wrist before slowly climbing back down, growling under his breath. Pyrrha sent Blake a smile and Velvet stifled a giggle as the trio went back to what they were doing, nothing but snarling and grunts being heard from Cardin for the rest of the night.

* * *

_**How was it? I know it's a lot to take in all at once, but hopefully, you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it (cause it was FUN). And you know, don't forget to drop me a review!**_

_********__Aside from that, just wanted to let you guys know I'm now on Tumblr (gothalbinoangel-fiction), Twitter ((a)gothalbinoangel), a Facebook (Goth Albino Angel) and an Archive of Our Own account (GothAlbinoAngel). There are more details on my profile._


	4. Let's Duel!

_********__Now, as per my promise on my Facebook, I'm updating every RWBY fic I've published on here._

_********__Sorry this is coming so long after the sneak peek went up, but I've been busy and bombed by new ideas. Not to mention, my tumblr is finally taking off. Someone actually requested something that wasn't RWBY, lol. It's nice to know there's someone out there who knows that, just cause my blog has nothing but RWBY on it right now, it's not always going to stay that way. _

_**So, I move into my college dorm room tomorrow and start on the 25th. Be proud. To celebrate the fact that I am furthering my education... here's a new chapter for you all! **_

_**For all those reading, all RWBY fics were created and thought of BEFORE the beginning of Volume 2, so all details are already hashed out and NOT changing.**_

_********__Alright, so this chapter is exceptionally long. You all know this. If you follow me on Tumblr and Facebook then you know why. Hope you guys enjoy!_

* * *

The next morning, Blake groaned, shaking her head as she awoke. At the angle their room was located, the first rays of sunlight had already begun to creep in. Sitting up, she glanced around to find Velvet stirring across from her and a soft yawn from Pyrrha let her know that the other girl was also awake. Some shifting below her and Blake rolled her eyes, glancing down to see Cardin sitting up on his bed and stretching.

"It wasn't a dream." Velvet sighed, ears flopping downward momentarily before perking back up at Cardin's response.

"More like a nightmare." the auburn boy snorted, getting to his feet and doing a full body stretch. "Alright, all of you." he called to the room. "We have an hour before our first class. I want everyone showered, dressed and back here getting their books within fifty minutes."

The girls all stared at him in shock and he chuckled. "What? Thought I wasn't going to give orders?"

"Actually, considering you don't even pay attention in class, we would have thought you slept in later." Pyrrha replied, hopping from her bunk calmly and beginning to gather her shower supplies.

"Pfft." Cardin waved away her words. "Just because I don't pay attention doesn't mean I have to get on the teach's bad side. Worst thing you could ever do is be late to a class first thing in the morning."

"That's oddly insightful." Blake murmured. "In a twisted sort of way."

"Yeah, yeah, spare me your compliments for later." their new leader scoffed. "After the first class, I'll go over the training schedule with you. Now get moving. We only have forty-five minutes left."

"What are the showers like at this end of the dorm?" Blake inquired.

"This side is where they keep the mostly male membered teams, so the bathrooms are pretty much all one unit." Cardin turned away after saying that so he missed the way Blake glanced to Pyrrha before paling. Velvet caught the look though and giggled softly, unwittingly drawing their leader's attention.

"What are you laughing at, Rabbit?" Cardin demanded, rounding on her. "Something funny?"

"N-no." Velvet murmured, avoiding his eyes.

"Well then, get on with it." the auburn bully snarled. "I gave you an order. Be a good little animal and obey."

"Hey!" Pyrrha stepped between the pair, crossing her arms. "Don't speak to her that way."

"She's a person too." Blake snapped, getting out her clothes for the day. Cardin snorted, but wisely said nothing further. He left soon after, heading for the showers to get ready.

"Thank you." Velvet murmured, looking first to Pyrrha and then to Blake.

"You don't need to." Pyrrha told her. "People like Cardin need to learn that Faunus aren't animals." She stole a glance to Blake to see the darker brunette clutching her clothing tighter than was normal.

"She's right." Blake growled, turning away from them both. She grabbed her books from their spot on her bookshelf and placed them on her bed, setting her brush next to them and turning to the other two girls. Pyrrha was just leaving to go take her shower and that left Velvet alone with Blake for a few moments.

The rabbit-Faunus grinned and cocked her head at the ninja. "So, Pyrrha?"

"Nothing's going to happen between us, Velvet." Blake stated immediately, turning to her and crossing her arms.

"Why not?" the mage asked in confusion. "Aren't you going to claim her as your mate?"

"No." Blake replied bluntly. "I don't want to force her into a relationship she may not want to be in. Is it really that obvious I like her?"

"Not unless you either have a trained eye to spot it or are directly looking for it." Velvet chuckled, gathering her shower things in her arms and making her way toward the door. "Still, I don't think the two of you would be a bad pair. Just think about it. Maybe she wants it too." With that, the rabbit-Faunus disappeared.

Blake huffed and grabbed her brush, beginning to untangle the mass of curls and return it to its wavy splendor. _Pyrrha couldn't possibly have feelings for me. The last I remember, she's still holding a candle for Jaune. He has gotten better in his fighting and leadership skills, but that doesn't stop him from being underserving of her. _Blake groaned and shook her head. _Listen to yourself. Berating someone else's worthiness of dating Pyrrha when you yourself don't deserve her either. Pathetic._ Finishing with her hair, Blake set about making sure her things were in order before the others came back and asked questions.

No sooner had she thought this than Cardin strode into the room, decked out in full attire with his mace folded and in his bag. He took one look at Blake and raised an eyebrow questioningly. "You do realize we have thirty minutes left, don't you?"

"Yes, why?" Blake retorted, not in the mood to deal with the auburn-haired boy so early in the morning.

"Well, girls take so long in the bathroom, I figured you'd want to get an early shower in."

Amber eyes rolled in annoyance before Blake turned and scoffed, "I don't take as long as you seem to think I do. All I need is fifteen minutes and I'm fine."

"Fifteen minutes for what?" Pyrrha asked, coming back in from her own fifteen-minute shower.

"Showering." Blake replied, racing from the room before she could get too good a look at the sight of Pyrrha's skin glistening with water. Velvet giggled as she watched her friend run down the hall and shook her head, deciding right then to have a talk with the other members of Ruby in order to find out more information on the ninja girl's crush and see if they couldn't work together to hook Blake up with Pyrrha.

Blake showered quickly, taking a little less than fifteen minutes under the water before drying, dressing and making her way back to the dorm room. Pyrrha and Velvet were there, securing their weapons in their bags while Cardin was looking around for his books. As he pulled them out from under the bed, Blake grabbed her own as well as her bag and stashed her brush in it.

Turning to the others, she asked, "Ready?"

"Let's go." Cardin commanded, leading the way out of the dorm without waiting for an answer, though the answer wouldn't have been no anyway.

Blake sat in her classes through the day, but she couldn't stop traitorous thoughts from filtering into her mind. Most of them revolved around the showers, which really were just one long strip with several showerheads and drains. _How would Pyrrha look under the water? Her skin was so shiny from the dampness when she came back into the room. Would her nipples get hard? _

_No! Stop thinking about that! _

_But they would be beautiful, capping those soft, gorgeous-. _

_Stop it! _

_And the way my tongue would wrap around them, her hand coming up as she leaned her head back and opened her mouth to shout-._

"Miss Belladonna."

Blake started in surprise and turned in the direction of Professor Sneech. "Yes, Sir?"

"I would very much appreciate it if you ceased daydreaming long enough to pay attention to class. I realize that a play by play of how the White Fang changed over time may seem quite boring, but trust me in saying that it truly is important when trying to understand the Faunus."

"Right." Blake nodded, lowering her head sheepishly. "Of course, Professor."

"Thank you. Now then class, as I was saying, eight years prior to the switch of leadership, the White Fang was still in the midst of securing peace with the humans, protecting Faunus who were being abused by..."

Blake sat back in her seat and took a deep breath to center her thoughts, tuning in to the professor's voice and pushing all thoughts of a green-eyed redheaded athlete from her mind. Once her thought processes were cleared, it was easier to focus on her classes rather than on Pyrrha, but that didn't stop more lascivious thoughts from plaguing her mind. The effort to keep such thoughts away was mentally exhausting and the brunette had to fight to keep her eyes open during the last class of the day.

Once the bell rang, Blake walked toward the dorm after her last class, wanting to get in a quick nap before Cardin came to get them for sparring practice. Checking her bag, she nodded to see Gambol Shroud exactly where she needed it to be just in case the school was attacked by Grimm. Swinging the bag along beside her, she stopped when she heard subtle footsteps. Glancing around, the brunette didn't see anyone nearby and chalked it up to hearing someone from inside the school.

Walking past the large statue in front of the school, Blake stopped to look at it as she had upon removing her bow so many weeks ago. The beast below was still a Grimm and the statues above were still humans, but Blake looked at them differently now. The man, in her mind, had a pair of horns beneath his helmet and the woman was hiding a tail below her skirt. _Faunus are human too_. She told herself, beginning to turn.

Just as her back was completely to the statue, she heard a shout and used one of her shadows to avoid the attack. Spinning around, she found Cardin swinging his mace at her. Gasping, Blake ducked and swung her foot out, connecting with his stomach. She winced at the pain on contact, wishing she had her steel-toed heels on instead.

The team leader didn't seem too deterred and rushed at her again. Blake jumped into the air and landed behind him, ducking a roundabout swing from the mace and spinning around, using her foot to connect with his jaw. Cardin stumbled backward and growled, rushing her once more. Blake thought of backing up but found her back pressed against something... the statue.

She was trapped between stone and something about to kill her. Shutting her eyes and ducking, the brunette heard the sound of metal on stone and felt some of the debris rain on her. Thinking quickly, Blake tucked and rolled, sliding between Cardin's open legs and leaping up behind him. Glancing over, she rolled over to her bag and swiftly removed her prized weapon. Leaping into the air, she did a spin and unsheathed the blade as she did, coming down behind her new team leader and giving him a roundhouse kick to the ribs.

Cardin stumbled backward, but remained standing. With a growl, he stalked forward and raised his mace, eyes narrowed as Blake waited for him to move, sheathing her blade to hold it one-handed. Before the brunette could get a word out, the redhead rushed forward, swinging his mace expertly as he attempted to get a blow in.

Blake flipped backward, avoiding the blow, but Cardin moved forward swiftly, the mace coming down with expert precision. Blake was forced to raise her weapon to block the attack and the force of the impact sent shockwaves down her arms. Gritting her teeth against the shout of pain rising in her throat, the brunette glared at her leader through narrowed eyes and spun out of his grip, loosening the mace and causing Cardin o lose his balance slightly. Blake paid no mind, however, and swung her sword at his back. The auburn boy dodged the attack and swung his weapon toward her stomach. Using her shadow ability, Blake leaped into the air and avoided the perpetually nasty hit, kicking outward as she did.

As Cardin reeled backward, he swung out his weapon arm and caught Blake in the side with the heavy piece. She went flying across the courtyard and slammed into a tree. Groaning as she glanced up, the brunette's eyes widened and she quickly rolled to the side to avoid getting her head bashed in. The mace smashed through the trunk and Cardin turned as the tree itself began toppling over.

Blake felt the physical exertion wearing at her muscles and her aura so she decided to end the fight as soon as she could. Cardin hefted the mace once again and, this time, Blake rushed to meet him, leaping over his intended swing. Spinning around, Blake slammed the hilt of her sword into Cardin's forehead and knocked him backward against a tree. Twirling Gambol Shroud expertly, she held it under her leader's throat as Cardin glared up at her, panting breathlessly.

"What is _wrong_ with you?" Blake demanded, panting heavily as she kept her blade beneath his neck, both hearing the final bell ring. Cardin made to stand, but Blake jabbed the tip of her katana into his neck, keeping him on the ground.

Pyrrha and Velvet rushed over moments later, Velvet placing a hand on Blake's shoulder to get her to loosen up while Pyrrha effortlessly pulled Cardin to his feet, green eyes surveying the situation speculatively. "What happened?" she inquired as Blake finally stepped back and lowered her weapon.

"He attacked me while I was heading to the dorm." Blake snarled, her fingers twitching and her ears fighting to remain standing.

"What for?" Velvet asked, glancing between the heavily panting brunette and their redheaded leader who was brushing himself off.

"Because she needs to be ready for an attack to come out of nowhere." Cardin stated, standing straight and looking over Blake's disheveled form. "From the looks of things, she's got a ways to go. Obviously, you've never gone against a stronger opponent, Belladonna."

Blake growled and clenched her fists, ready to use those rather than her katana, but Velvet put a hand out to her chest to stop her while Pyrrha took care of the bully. "That's all well and good." the red haired girl said. "However, now Velvet and I know that you're going to do it, so apparently you didn't time this correctly. Not only that, but you just put Blake through a sparring session, which means she won't be at her best for the one later today."

"Right now, actually." Cardin told her nonchalantly, checking a clock across the courtyard.

"Right now then." Pyrrha adjusted smoothly. "Regardless, she won't be at her best in a sparring match now that she's exhausted."

"She still needs to participate." Cardin replied, hefting his overly large weapon and beginning to make his way toward the training grounds. "All of you need to be in good shape if you want to be on my team. We're training to become hunters, not synchronized swimmers. Let's go."

Pyrrha shook her head with a sigh before turning to her other team members. Velvet was having difficulty calming down a livid Blake and the athlete knew she needed to calm the situation before the black-haired Faunus killed their leader before the first day was over. Walking over to the pair, she laid a hand on Blake's shoulder and commanded, "Blake, you need to calm down."

Almost instantly, the ninja's frame began to relax, but a small hint of tension remained as she drew out her magnetic backpack and slipped it on. "I might have to take Nora up on that offer to break his legs." she huffed, alluding to the conversation Teams Juniper and Ruby had had that afternoon so long ago.

"I'm sure she'd be pleased, but he's our leader now and without him, we're lost." Pyrrha told her. "We only have to deal with it for six months and then you'll be back with your original leader and able to bust Cardin's legs all you want."

Blake gave a grunt in reply as they all began making their way toward the training grounds, knowing they were all in for one hell of a spar.

When they got to the training ground, Cardin had hefted his mace and was waiting for them. He nodded when they approached and began giving instructions. "Alright, it's Belladonna and Nikos against me and Bunny. We'll do partner fighting for obvious reasons. You all need to be able to coordinate with your partners in a fight and since none of us have really fought alongside each other before, sparring is the best way to begin learning the other person's moves. Bunny, choose which one of them you want to fight."

Velvet glanced to him a bit nervously before nodding her head to Pyrrha. The redheaded girl shot her partner a worried glance, knowing that this would be Blake's second time going against Cardin with only a few moments of rest. Praying that the brunette knew what she was doing, Pyrrha followed Velvet a little ways away while Blake faced Cardin.

"You think you're ready for this, Flower?" the leader snickered, getting into a fighting stance.

"Don't be stupid." Blake huffed, getting into a crouch and brandishing Gambol Shroud.

Cardin nodded and ran at her, swinging his mace as he did. Blake jumped over the easy blow and swung the flat of her sheath, narrowly missing the larger boy's head. "Sneaky." Cardin snarled, running at the brunette and swinging his mace in another attempt to get her. Blake used a shadow clone to leap backward away from the hit. She raced forward right after it in order to catch Cardin by surprise. She succeeded in getting his chest with Gambol Shroud, but the mace came up when Cardin flailed backward, knocking Gambol Shroud far out of her hand.

Biting her tongue against several profanities, Blake barely had time to bring her arms up to block the auburn boy's next attack. "Attacking someone who's weaponless with a weapon?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"It's a fight." Cardin stated.

"It's petty and low." Blake grunted, summoning sheer willpower to throw the mace off. This did nothing to stop Cardin from bringing it back, not giving her enough time to get away. Blake flipped backward, but Cardin seemed to have discovered a method for dealing with that. Whenever she would flip away, he would run after her instead of waiting to see where she would land. Blake was hard pressed to keep the mace at bay and get enough space between them to go after Gambol Shroud.

The brunette was panting heavily, her entire form already covered in sweat as she beat back the mace with her bare hands, her arms shaking every time she had to block the large weapon from smacking into her. Each hit from the overly long prongs pushed her further along the ground, causing her to dig into the dirt at her feet. Deciding to go on instinct, Blake leaped up as the mace was coming again and kicked outward, smashing her foot across the auburn boy's cheek and dazing him for a moment, long enough for her to catch some breath.

A lull in their own fight let the pair turn to survey the other half of their team. Velvet was holding a vial f dust in her hand and she seemed to be absorbing it through the strange vial, her other hand continually pointing to Pyrrha and sending any form of attack at the redhead.

Pyrrha jumped and hopped out of the way of the magical attacks and leaped forward, swinging Milo quickly. Velvet, being part rabbit, dodged the blow, bouncing upward and backward to avoid the famous athlete. Pyrrha was not deterred and continued forward, swinging her sword once more. Velvet was just landing as this was happening and only had enough time to raise her arms in defense before Milo knocked her across the ground.

Cardin observed the fight appreciatively, his gaze lingering on Pyrrha's form. Blake noticed the hunger in his eyes and felt jealousy tug at her insides, urging her to act. Blake glared at the boy opposite her, a snarl forming on her lips as she tried to think clearly through her rage. However, her thought process was interrupted by thoughts of Cardin lip-locking Pyrrha, pushing her against a wall, his hands running all over her perfect, curvy, shapely-.

With a growl, the brunette rushed, using her enhanced speed to dodge the mace's blow as she smacked her fist into the auburn boy's jaw, smashing him into a nearby tree. Not stopping there, she leaped at him, fist hitting into his chest and stomach as she let all of her fury out on him.

A fist blind-sided her from her left side and the ninja sailed backward. Landing easily on her feet, the brunette glared daggers at the team leader, holding up two fingers as she attempted to center herself in preparation for his next hit. Cardin snickered and took a running leap, soaring through the air toward her. Blake back-flipped out of the way and growled, hopping up and jumping at Cardin, nailing a punch to his jaw before his own fist counteracted. It slammed into her gut, sending her flying upward and as she was falling back toward the ground, he took aim and swing his mace, swatting her like a baseball.

Blake went flying backward from the force of the blow and landed several yards away from where she had started off. The earlier spar with Cardin still had her aura working hard and she was unable to heal the aches and pains immediately, causing her to collapse to the ground in order to recover. Cardin stalked toward her with his mace, intending to deliver a finishing blow that would knock her out. However, he was unprepared for Pyrrha to step in and slam her fist into his stomach, sending him flying just as he had done Blake, albeit not as far.

Coughing as he jumped to his feet, Cardin hefted his weapon and rushed Pyrrha, who waited for his attack to come, eyes narrowed calculatingly. When he was right upon her, the athlete lifted her sword against his blow and lashed forward with the blunt end of her sword, hitting him square in the chest. This did nothing to deter Cardin and he came at her again. Pyrrha watched the angle that he brought the mace down at and raised Akouo quickly, also at an angle. The metallic clang that followed was accompanied by the sight of the rebounded mace flying out of its owner's hands.

Cardin watched his mace fly across the field before turning burning eyes to Pyrrha. The green-eyed girl stare at him patiently and Cardin rolled his eyes, rushing her without his weapon. Pyrrha brought her shield up to block his attacks, but one in particular sent Akouo flying in a random direction. Pyrrha didn't seem fazed and put Milo at her back, signaling hand-to-hand combat.

The team leader chuckled, baring his fists and racing toward her. Pyrrha narrowed her eyes calculatingly and brought her arms up to stop each blow, matching Cardin punch for punch and kick for kick. The athlete let a smirk flitter across her lips for a moment before going on the offensive and throwing some punches of her own. Cardin, not being quite as skilled at blocking as his opponent, threw up his arms to block attacks, but Pyrrha still knew how to go for weak spots.

Spotting an opening in Cardin's barrier, Pyrrha slammed her fist into his chest, knocking him back and continuing her advance. Cardin lifted his arms to block the brunt of her attacks, but one got past and hit his stomach, knocking some of the wind out of him long enough for her fist to smash against his jaw. Another swift blow to the chin had Cardin flying through the air. He landed on his back against a tree and panted as he got back to his feet. Seeing that Pyrrha was still ready for him and barely showing signs of fatigue, he nodded and held his hands out in the shape of a T.

Pyrrha nodded and glanced to where Blake and Velvet were also sparring. The darker brunette sped forward, dodging several of Velvet's mage attacks and leaping over the smaller Faunus. Lashing out with her leg, Blake sent an expert kick to the rabbit-Faunus' head and sent her flying backward. Blake glanced to Pyrrha who shook her head once to signal for her not to continue and the ninja visibly slumped, her form showing just how exhausted she was.

"Not bad." Cardin grinned, eyeing the three females appraisingly. "Pyrrha seems to be the only one with any real battle experience. Belladonna, you need to work on your stamina more. You're worn down too easy in a fight that could last for hours. Bunny, you've got to work on actually using your body as a weapon. The two of you need work on hand-to-hand combat. Pyrrha will help me teach you that tomorrow. For now, you can hit the showers."

Turning, Cardin began limping toward the dorms, the girls watching him incredulously. Pyrrha turned to where Blake was helping Velvet to her feet and noticed the fire from earlier igniting in the darker brunette's eyes. "I can't take him head on." Blake grumbled as they began making their way back toward the dorms. "That won't stop me from smothering him with a pillow."

"Keep calm." Pyrrha ordered, laying a soothing hand on her back.

Velvet watched Blake's mood calm immediately and suppressed a giggle. The trio made their way into the dormitories to find that Cardin had already headed for the showers. Nodding to herself, Blake watched Pyrrha and Velvet gather their shower supplies before heading to the bathrooms and she sighed, shaking her head and beginning to brush through her hair. The fight had left it matted and tangled, not good condition to go into the shower with.

_Just one chance to see Pyrrha in the shower, her body dripping and glistening with water... _

_No! I need to stay away from Pyrrha! She can't know!_

_To press her against the wall and make her moan as the water rained down around us._

_Am I going into heat?_

This thought made Blake stop for a moment, cocking her head speculatively before sighing and shaking it. _No, not for another fifteen days. _Growling to herself, the brunette continued getting the knots and tangles from her hair. She was just finishing the right side of her head when Cardin walked back into the room, leaning on his back leg and crossing his arms.

"Do you have some problem with showering with everyone else?" he scoffed, going over to his bed.

"Yes." Blake replied bluntly.

Obviously Cardin had been expecting some excuse because his surprise shone on his face for a few seconds before he shrugged. "There's no reason to be self-conscious. No one here can really judge you."

"You're only saying that so that you can get a peek at what I look like naked." the brunette replied dully, not turning to him.

Cardin grinned and shrugged again. "I can't help it if I might find you hot."

Blake gave a noncommittal hum and began dragging the brush through the back of her head. Cardin set about arranging the clothes he was going to wear the next day on his desk and the two were content to ignore each other. Blake finished with her hair and grabbed a book to read as she waited for Pyrrha and Velvet to return from their own showers.

Another fifteen minutes passed and the door opened to reveal a still dripping Pyrrha clad in her pajamas-a red tank top with her sigma on it in gold and red shorts with the sigma on both legs-followed by a perfectly dry Velvet, also in pajamas-a brown long-sleeved dress with yellow bunnies adorning the stomach.

Blake felt a coil tighten in her stomach at the sight of the redheaded girl and she quickly averted her gaze, remembering what had happened the last few times anyone had caught her looking at Pyrrha. Standing, she slung her towel over her shoulder and gathered her shower things in her arms, making her way out the door. Pyrrha watched her go and glanced to Velvet in confusion.

"Why does she shower so late?" the famous athlete wondered aloud.

"She didn't explain it to me when I asked." Cardin replied, leaning against the beam of his bed and crossing his arms.

"I see no reason why she would." Pyrrha quipped. "She's still upset with you for the sparring match this afternoon."

"What? She won the first, I won the second. It was fair." Pyrrha rolled her eyes, not even bothering to correct him on why it wasn't fair. Instead, she sat on her bed and began combing out her hair in preparation for the coming day. Velvet glanced at her and did the same, plopping on her bed to begin untangling her own mane. Cardin looked to them for a moment and raised an eyebrow, wondering what the deal was with girls and combing their hair.

Blake returned from her shower half an hour later, clad in her yukata. Cardin appraised her appreciatively, grinning when he received a glare for doing so. Hopping onto her bed, the dark brunette pulled out her scroll, thinking on whether or not to dial her friends. The training session had been taxing on her and she really needed to rest after something like that.

Deciding to contact them tomorrow, Blake put away her scroll beneath her pillow and glanced to the rest of her team. Velvet had already retired to bed, as had Cardin. Pyrrha was studying something on her scroll so Blake hopped down and moved to the switch.

"Do you mind?" she called to her partner.

"Not at all." Pyrrha replied, not looking up.

Blake nodded and hit the lights, climbing back up to her bunk and settling down for bed. It was about then that all of the aches and pains caught up with her and she found herself sinking quickly into sleep. With one last glance to the girl opposite her, the brunette slipped into slumber, dreading the coming day.

* * *

_********__Any girl who knows can testify that depending on a person's hair, it really does take at LEAST ten minutes to get it even remotely presentable. I've got sew-ins in right now and it STILL takes me fifteen minutes every morning to get the curls out of it. Some GUYS might even be able to testify to this, am I right?_

_********__Also, for some of you who may ask, brushing your teeth in the shower is not uncommon. That's where Blake does it, so she didn't go into school with bad breath, alright?_

_********__And I'm a bit rusty on fighting scenes. I know this, however, it's nice to hear your thoughts on the portrayal of the fighting. _

_********__Aside from that, just wanted to let you guys know I'm now on Tumblr (gothalbinoangel-fiction), Twitter ((a)gothalbinoangel), a Facebook (Goth Albino Angel) and an Archive of Our Own account (GothAlbinoAngel). There are more details on my profile._

_********__So drop me a review, will ya? I slaved over this chapter, keep that in mind._


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